A woman who robbed another woman while wielding a hatchet was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years with the Department of Public Safety, of which at least two will be in prison.
Trinety Shantel Crapser, 26, formerly of Ocean View, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, while charges of first degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, third-degree assault, attempted unauthorized control of a motor vehicle and attempted second-degree assault were dropped as part of the plea deal.
She pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery on June 18.
The victim, Trudi Grentz, was out of her running car on South Point Road to put up signs for the farm stand where she worked.
Crapser and her co-defendant, Kainoa Kahele-Bishop, then pulled up. Crapser got out of the passenger side and threatened Grentz with a 15-inch hatchet with a 7-inch blade, Grenz said. Crapser then lunged at Grentz with the hatchet and the two women began struggling for control of the weapon.
As this was going on, Kahele-Bishop stole a bag from Grentz’s car.
Finally Grentz managed to take control of the weapon and throw it into the bushes, she said in her testimony. They then struggled as Crapser tried to drive off in the Grenz’s Corvette. A passerby finally intervened.
Crapser told doctors and investigators Kahele-Bishop threatened her with a shotgun to rob Grentz.
The negotiated plea required Judge Ronald Ibarra lower the mandatory minimum sentencing.
The reason for the reduced sentence was that “for the first time she has something to lose,” said Wendy Deweese, her defense attorney.
That includes a husband, her father and three children, she said. All were present in the courtroom.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Kauanoe Kaneshiro also spoke in support of the plan, saying that she’s seen Crapser improve during her time the trial has continued.
Crapser read a statement she’d prepared before Ibarra was set to begin sentencing.
“I feel really terrible for what I did,” she said.
Her actions were wrong and she felt badly for the woman she attacked, she said.
She said she “couldn’t imagine” the fear and terror the woman felt during the attack.
“I hurt an innocent woman and I hurt my own family,” Crapser said.
Ibarra asked her a number of questions before the sentencing.
He asked her what motivated her to attempt the robbery.
“At this point, with a clear mind, I couldn’t tell you why I did it,” she said.
He pressed the question, and she said it was a combination of her daily meth use at the time and fear of the driver.
He also asked why this sort of turnaround hadn’t happened earlier.
She said that she stopped illegal drug use, and she has recently found Jesus and been baptized.
She said she also learned that using drugs is not a way to solve her problems.
Crapser has been diagnosed with several mental illnesses and been prescribed medication at various times, according to court documents.
“I’m so sorry for everything I did,” she said.
Ibarra asked why the birth of her daughter made a turnaround, as she has two children ages 6 and 3.
She also found faith in God and was baptized.
“I never felt there was a chance for me,” she said, before that faith.
Deweese asked the judge for one other variance.
Crapser’s daughter was born on Dec. 28, 2014. Crapser has been breatfeeding the girl since them, DeWeese said. She also advanced evidence of the importance of breastfeeding to a child’s health and development.
As a result, Deweese asked that her sentence not begin until Dec. 28, 2015 to allow a full year of breastfeeding.
This will also allow Crapser to finish earning her GED diploma.
In a Dec. 3 hearing, it wasn’t clear if the three doctors would find her fit to stand trial. There were three reports submitted. Two psychiatrists found her fit to stand trial and a psychologist did not.
Dr. Henry Yang, the psychologist, said she was not fit due to her auditory hallucinations, including her grandmother assuring her that everything would be alright.
The other two doctors said, independently, that she was mentally ill, but not to the point where she did not understand her actions.
Ibarra made one last comment before she left the defense table.
“I hope you don’t think you can use your child as a way to avoid the consequences of your actions,” Ibarra said.
She assured him she never would.
